India!

You guys…I fell asleep on the Taj Mahal. No, not near it, not on the grounds around it, but in one of the pishtaqs actually on the building itself – confirming that I can fall asleep anywhere if I’m tired enough and it’s sunny enough. I believe that means I’ve slept with the dead. It is a tomb, after all. I’ll be viewing that as good luck?

With that, we went to India! We went for the Chinese New Year (happy Year of the Horse!). It was amazing, enlightening, and all together incredibly challenging. I’ve always wanted to go to India – I’ve been all over Europe, China, and North America, and India has been on my bucket list for a while. The fiance and I had both been warned plenty about how crazy and hectic India could be. We’d been warned about the poverty. We’d been warned about the hassling and the haggling. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We both figured, rural China (and some cities here) have all those things – we can handle it. But…no. You have absolutely no idea how bad it really is until you go. There is just no way to fathom it. They hassled like nobody’s business. They stare at you like they want to eat you (mostly, it’s a whole lot of men). The poverty is insane – and they have homeless dogs like the U.S. has squirrels, just everywhere, on every single corner and doorway. It was a lot to take. However, they had amazing street food, amazing sights, and amazing markets, and it was definitely a learning experience interacting with all the people.

This is going to be a two-parter. This first post about India, and New Delhi in particular, where we went, is dedicated to the people and the buildings. We saw so much – the Taj, Humayun’s Tomb (where I may or may not have napped as well…), the Chandra Chowk market, Jama Masjid, and so much more. My next post will be dedicated to the food. Because, duh. The food. Amaze.

So, we almost got killed by a rickshaw driver. Probably by more than one, but one very much in particular – he seriously almost got hit or ran into about 10 different people, cyclists and/or motorists. This was on our way from Agra, after seeing the Taj Mahal, to the Agra Cantt train station. The fiance and I were both thankful to be alive after that one!

Agra was even crazier than New Delhi – but, ahem, they had monkeys. And they were so much fun to see all over the city – especially the babies! Before we got to Agra, just on a day trip to see the Taj Mahal, we spent the better part of the week in New Delhi. We wandered, spent some time seeing Old Delhi, getting food, and enjoying the sights. On one day we even saw a live concert in the middle of Connaught Place. Also, the architecture is unbelievable. A lot of it is in complete disrepair, but the architectural details were so beautiful.

With all that said, I’m so glad we went. I’m also so glad to be back 🙂 Next post – the food!